1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an audio jack, and particularly to an audio jack that has a robust mating head to bear repeated insertions or undue insertion.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, an audio jack comprises an insulative housing with a mating head extending forwardly from the housing for mating with a mating plug connector. As the plug connector is frequently inserted into or pulled out of the audio jack, the mating head and the housing must bear certain stress. Japanese Patent No. 6-36255[U] discloses a conventional audio jack. Referring to FIG. 7, a conventional audio jack 6 comprises an insulative housing 60 and a pair of contacts 61 assembled in the housing 60. The housing 60 comprises a forwardly extending cylindrical mating head 601. Because the audio jack 6 is slender, the housing 60 and the mating head 601 are weak in structure. In addition, the junction between the mating head 601 and the housing 60 has no additional means to reinforce the mating head 601, so the mating head 60 is easy to break after repeated insertions.
Hence, an improved audio jack is required to overcome the disadvantage of the conventional audio jack.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide an audio jack with enough intensity for increasing its lifespan.
In order to achieve the object set forth, an audio jack in accordance with the present invention comprises an insulative housing, a grounding shield enclosing the housing, and two pairs of contacts assembled in the housing. The housing comprises a mating face facing a complementary plug connector and a pair of cylindrical mating heads extending forwardly from the mating face. Two pairs of opposite supporting ribs extend forwardly from junctions between the mating heads and the mating face. The shield comprises a plurality of board locks extending downwardly from transverse edges thereof for retaining the audio jack on a mating printed circuit board. In mating, the supporting ribs enhance the intensity of the junctions between the mating head and mating face, thereby preventing the mating head from breakage.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in junction with the accompanying drawings.